Even if you go to minor league baseball games every year, it’s easy to miss the subtle changes that have occurred over the span of a couple of decades.
Some differences aren’t very subtle. The arrival of a pitch clock at Triple-A in 2015 was hard to miss. The reduction of the ticket-taking, affiliated minor leagues from 160 to 120 teams was a seismic change.
A lot of other changes are a little less apparent. One year’s bleachers become next year’s party deck. A “bark in the park” joins the promotional schedule.
Any one of these moves is very minor, but they are the tweaks that over the years that transform the experience for players, teams and fans.
Here’s a look at 10 ways the minor leagues have changed and will change over the next few years.
1. MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL OWNERSHIP IS CONSOLIDATING
The days of the mom and pop-owned minor league team largely disappeared in the 1990s, replaced by the wealthy owner or ownership group. For the owners who survived the threadbare
